Words from the Waiting Room
by Rosebud5
Summary: As Darry, Sodapop, and Ponyboy wait in the hospital to hear the diagnosis for Johnny and Dally after the fire in Windrixville, they have a conversation none of them will ever forget, full of words they all needed to hear.


So life's been CRAZY...Finishing everything for applying to my college, an APA paper, _Narnia_ rehearsals (being Aslan is WILD!), finishing _Pride and Prejudice_...Yeah. I'm surprised I found time to write this! But time I found indeed. I hope to update one of my multi-chapter stories soon, but in the meantime I have about two or three _Outsiders _one-shots I wrote to tide ya over. Hope you enjoy this one!

Disclaimer: Not. S. E. Hinton.

~Rosey

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><p><strong>Words from the Waiting Room<br>**

It was 9:50 P.M. and the hospital was finally starting to become quiet. All the reporters had finally left, and soon all that was heard was the soft tapping of a nurse's footstep and the different beeps and clicks coming from the different rooms, each muffled through the doors. Ponyboy Curtis sat huddled in a chair, his aching forehead resting on his arms. He looked wearily over at his oldest brother Darry, who was sitting on a bench opposite him, his eyes closed and his face resting in the palm of his hand. Sodapop, the middle Curtis brother, lay stretched out across the bench, his head resting in Darry's lap and his eyes closed. Pony couldn't tell if Soda was really sleeping or just resting his eyes, but he _could _tell just how exhausted he was, and Darry too. Ponyboy knew neither of them had gotten much sleep the past week that he had been missing, and he was feeling mighty guilty about it. He would give anything to go back just one week and fix everything...Never have stayed out late in the lot, never run away, never witnessed a murder...It was too much to think about and he closed his eyes, sighing deeply.

"Hey." Pony looked up at the sound of Darry's voice. "You alright, little brother?"

"Yeah, just fine," Pony lied, running a hand through his bleached hair. "Just...thinkin' about Johnny and Dally, I guess."

"They'll both be okay," Darry promised with a half-hearted smile. "The doctors will come out any minute and tell us that they're okay and then we'll get you home."

Pony just looked at his oldest brother. Darry, of all people, should know they wouldn't be okay...Especially Johnny. Had he not seen the way the kid looked, all burnt and frail? Darry...Logical, serious Darry...should know that. Or maybe he was just trying to make Ponyboy feel better. Either way, it just made Pony more nervous and he swallowed, fighting off his inner fears.

While these thoughts were going through Pony's mind, Darry was looking down at Soda and pushing the blond hair off his brother's forehead fondly. "He sure looks peaceful, don't he Pone?" Darry's voice brought Ponyboy back into reality. "First time he's actually gotten some shut eye all week."

"Be easier to sleep if the two of you'd be quiet," Soda's drowsy voice came sleepily, yet still playfully. "And don't you go acting like you've rested any easier, Dare. If you weren't so afraid of someone seein' ya, you'd be sleepin' in _my _lap." A sleepy smile came across Sodapop's face, his eyes still closed.

Darry chuckled, shaking his head. "Shut up and go back to sleep, Pepsi-Cola."

But Soda kept talking, this time with some worry in his still-drowsy voice. "Wish those doctors would hurry up. I'm scared to death about Johnny and Dall. You guys think they'll be okay?"

Ponyboy swallowed and nodded, though he knew Soda couldn't see him because his eyes were closed. Pony kicked his toe into the floor, and looked over at Darry and Soda again. They both looked so utterly wiped out... Darry had dark circles under his eyes and Soda's eyes were even more darkly circled, and almost looked swollen. Ponyboy bit his lip. He didn't know how badly his running away would hurt his brothers. He really hated seeing Soda look so beat...He would never do anything to hurt Soda.

_Or Darry, _he thought quickly, hating himself for thinking only of Soda first yet again. _Darry's been as hurt and scared as Soda has been._

Darry yawned behind his hand, looking over at Pony again. "We sure missed ya, Ponyboy," he mumbled, running a hand through his own hair. "You scared us to death."

"I know. I'm sorry," Pony muttered, ashamed. "You both look awful."

"Better-n you look," Soda chuckled drowsily from his position in Darry's lap. "You ain't been in a bed for a week. Sure is quiet around the house when you ain't home." Soda looked like he wanted to say something else, but a yawn stopped him mid-sentence.

Darry looked down at Soda wearily, the look of a father reprimanding his son. "Sodapop would you just get some sleep? We'll wake you up when the doctors come and let us know about Johnny and Dally."

"Nah, I ain't that tired..." But another yawn contradicted his words and within minutes Soda's breathing was soft and steady, showing he was asleep. Darry chuckled softly, stroking his younger brother's hair again. "God bless this kid," Darry mumbled, only half-jokingly, looking down at Soda with a tiny smile. "Kept me sane while you were gone, Pony."

"He keeps all of us sane," Ponyboy said fondly, grinning slightly.

Darry looked at Pony for a moment thoughtfully before speaking. "Pony...I really am sorry. For...hittin' ya," the words were painful. "I didn't mean it, I swear on my life I didn't. I was just so scared about ya...Not knowin' where you were...Glory, Ponyboy you scared me to death. But I'm real sorry Ponyboy. And that's the truth."

Pony swallowed, nodding. He had forgiven Darry long ago, but was just now able to say so. "Darry, I ain't mad at you. _I'm _sorry. I never think. And that just screws things up. So...I'm the one who's sorry."

"It's okay," Darry said with a small smile. He looked down at Soda and chuckled lightly. "Thank goodness Soda ain't awake; he'd probably have a heart-attack, hearin' us gettin' along like this."

Pony laughed, nodding. "Sure would. Then there'd be three of us in a hospital."

"Thought he'd be in one before the week was up," Darry's voice was mostly serious. "He took you runnin' away real hard, Pone. Never seen Soda so broken before. It takes a lot to knock this one down, but when he falls he falls hard. He wanted to go to Texas to look for you," Darry continued, looking down at Soda gently. "Two-Bit wanted to too, but Soda actually got in the truck and drove off...Thought I was gonna lose him too. Finally caught up with him and he just broke down...Glory it was awful." Darry stopped, and realized how guilty he must be making Pony feel. "Sorry, Ponyboy. Didn't mean to lay all that on you."

Pony just blinked, nodding numbly. He had done that to Soda? He had broken his happy-go-lucky, carefree brother like that? Man, that hurt worse than the pounding headache he was starting to have. He never wanted to hurt Soda, and knowing that he had was almost too much to bear.

Suddenly, the doctor came in from behind the nearest door and approached the three Curtis brothers, his face serious. Pony swallowed, but stood up to face him nevertheless as Darry gently shook Soda awake. Whatever the news, the Curtis brothers were going to face it together. Because they were finally reunited, and nothing in the world would ever come between them again.

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><p>Well? I hope you all liked it! The part about Soda going to look for Pony in Texas comes from my other fic "Let It Rain"...Please R&amp;R if you like Darry and Soda HC!

Sooo... **REVIEW?**

~Rosey


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